Merced County employee’s bribery case ‘closed,’ no charges filed

Finally, I get to answer a question about crime, sort of.

The case I will be discussing in today’s column is nearly two years old.

Q: Whatever happened to the case involving Anthony Thompson, a former collections supervisor at the Merced County Revenue and Reimbursement Department?

A: Let’s go back to Feb. 11, 2014, when the Merced County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for a cellphone, briefcase, backpack, hotel receipts and the 2014 red Toyota Tacoma belonging to Anthony J. Thompson.

The search warrant was served about three weeks after allegations surfaced that Thompson, 53 at the time, allegedly offered to reduce the fees a woman was paying to Merced County for her son in exchange for dates with Thompson.

The woman alleged that when she questioned the amount of her son’s bill, Thompson proposed reducing the amount owed if she went on a date with him, according to the search warrant affidavit.

The affidavit says the woman told detectives that Thompson would wave $100 bills at her saying, “These could be yours.” When talking about the dates, Thompson allegedly said he and the woman would get a hotel room and “have a good time,” according to the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, Thompson wrote his personal cellphone number on the back of a business card he gave to the woman. She felt so uncomfortable with the situation that she began having relatives pay the restitution bills.

Detectives set up a call between the woman and Thompson to record their conversation. During the call, the affidavit says, Thompson said he couldn’t eliminate all of the debt, but he could erase quite a bit of it. When the woman said she had just made a payment, Thompson replied, “I told you I would take care of it.” The woman agreed to meet Thompson later that evening.

Thompson was arrested at the meeting place, booked into jail and released after posting $10,000 bond that same night.

By Feb. 14, Thompson was no longer employed by the Revenue and Reimbursement Department. At the time, sources in the department told the Sun-Star that Thompson took a retirement package.

Thompson also operated two homes that provided transitional housing for homeless veterans. He was paid $55 per night by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA terminated its contract with Thompson, though officials said they had no evidence Thompson did anything wrong in terms of his contract with that department.

The Sheriff’s Office submitted the case to the Merced County District Attorney’s Office. Harold Nutt, chief deputy district attorney, said there was insufficient evidence based on the investigation to file charges. The district attorney sent it back to the sheriff for further review.

But, according to the Sheriff’s Office, the case is closed.

Sgt. Delray Shelton, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said the District Attorney’s Office notified deputies in a letter that the case was rejected for filing, and the Sheriff’s Office is unaware of any necessary follow-up. “We have completed the investigation and consider the case closed,” Shelton said.

I left a message for Thompson this week to see how things were going on his end. He didn’t return the call.

This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 3:12 PM with the headline "Merced County employee’s bribery case ‘closed,’ no charges filed."